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Monday, July 25, 2016

As I wait for pictures to finish a post on our recent family gathering in Klamath Falls I started sorting through some of the old pictures in the Madden Family Albums. Among my first finds were pictures of the family journey from China Lake to St. Paul in 1953.

Lake Yosemite

We were a family of five, camping in that little teardrop trailer. I was the baby and as such slept in the trailer, I think in some sort of hammock hung over the bed. Maura and Colleen being great grown up girls (4 and 6) slept in the back of the Buick.

Mt. Whitney

I of course do not remember this trip, but the pictures tell the tale of some of the places we visited, including Crater Lake ...

Monday, July 18, 2016

Forty-five years ago, In 1971, Jim and Jean packed up and moved from Fair Oaks, California to Gig Harbor, Washington. Tim, Sean and Pat, as yet still dependent went along. Colleen, newly married,was living in Oregon. Maura and Cath stayed behind in California.

So the family split apart, never again to all live in the same place.

The original eight member family is now grown to thirty-four strong. We range in age from mid-sixties to two. We are teachers, school directors, software developers, lawyers, analysts, engineers, economists, plant scientists, pharmacists assts, Coffee experts, VPs, CFPs, CFOs, longshoremen, stay at home parents, makeup salespeople, receptionists, artists, students, gymnasts, cloggers, athletes, and a genealogist. Some of the above are very happily retired others just starting out.

Generations begin to blend with some cousins younger than their cousins' children. The oldest of the fourth generation graduated from high school this year, the youngest of the third generation is starting 8th grade. The twelve year spread of the 2nd generation extended to over thirty years in the 3rd.

1992 - Patrick's Wedding

Most have stayed on the West Coast. One clerked for a US Appellate court judge in Pittsburg (PA) for a couple of years, one is currently at Notre Dame (IN), two lived in Belgium for a short time, and one adventurous soul traveled a bit further, Denmark in High School, Cornell and Tufts and two years with the Peace Corps in Bolivia. We've lost a few members over the years, Colleen in 1976, Dad in 1998, Mom in 2011 and both Greg and Bill in 2015.

But one thing remains a constant, this family enjoys getting together. Last week over two thirds of the family gathered in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Missing were two nephews (one with wife and two children), one niece, and a great niece and nephew. As we talked, played, toured and ate we reflected on the fact that this was one of a long list of Family Gatherings. The first was Mom's and Dad's twenty-fifth anniversary in 1972 just a little over a year after the move. In the early years the gatherings were sporadic, although there were some holiday meals with much of the family that are not included in the list below. Weddings provided an excuse for many a gathering, and there were a few extended family reunions.
When no events were on the horizon the family began to plan shared vacations every few years.

Meaghan put together a list and others added to it. Hopefully, our memories did not fail in creating this timeline of events. Watch the changing faces of the family as we relive each of those family gatherings, not necessarily in order, in future posts.